containerd VS minikube

Compare containerd VS minikube and see what are their differences

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containerd

An industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability

minikube

Run Kubernetes locally. Contribute to kubernetes/minikube development by creating an account on GitHub.

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2022-04-15

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2023-08-27

containerd

Website: containerd.io
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minikube

Website: github.com
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containerd features and specs

Lightweight
Containerd focuses on providing core container primitives, making it lightweight and efficient compared to more comprehensive container management platforms.
CNCF Graduated
Being a CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation) graduated project means containerd has undergone rigorous scrutiny and is recognized as stable and secure.
Highly Modular
Containerd provides a well-defined API with gRPC, making it highly modular and allowing for fine-grained control over container lifecycle management.
Kubernetes Integration
Containerd acts as the default container runtime for Kubernetes via the CRI (Container Runtime Interface) plugin, ensuring excellent synergy with Kubernetes-managed environments.
Vendor-Neutral
Containerd is an open-source project that is vendor-neutral, promoting community collaboration and reducing vendor lock-in.
Wide Industry Support
Spearheaded initially by Docker, containerd has received wide support from tech giants like Google and Alibaba, ensuring a broad and robust adoption across the industry.

Possible disadvantages of containerd

Limited to Container Management
Unlike platforms like Docker, containerd focuses solely on container lifecycle management and does not offer advanced networking, storage solutions, or orchestration engines.
Complex Integration
While offering a high level of control, containerd’s modularity can translate into higher complexity when it comes to integrating it with other tools, such as monitoring and logging systems.
Fewer Features Out-of-the-Box
Containerd provides fewer features out-of-the-box compared to more comprehensive container management systems, which may require additional components to achieve a similar feature set.
Steeper Learning Curve
Due to its focus on being a low-level runtime, containerd can have a steeper learning curve for users not familiar with container runtime internals.

minikube features and specs

Easy Setup
Minikube provides a straightforward setup process, allowing users to quickly run Kubernetes clusters on local machines with minimal configuration.
Lightweight
Designed for local development and testing, Minikube is lightweight and enables developers to spin up a Kubernetes environment without the overhead of a full-scale production setup.
Multi-platform Support
Minikube supports multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible for developers working across different platforms.
Feature Rich
Minikube offers a variety of Kubernetes features, including support for a wide range of Kubernetes APIs, which can be useful for development and testing.
Extensible
It supports add-ons and configurations that allow developers to extend its functionality to suit their development needs.

Possible disadvantages of minikube

Limited Scalability
Minikube is designed for local use and small-scale testing; it is not suitable for large-scale or production-grade deployments.
Resource Intensive
Despite being lightweight compared to full-scale Kubernetes deployments, Minikube can still require significant local resources, which may affect the performance of the host machine.
Performance Limitations
As a local Kubernetes solution, Minikube may not deliver the same performance and resource efficiency as cloud-based Kubernetes environments, particularly for intensive workloads.
Networking Challenges
Configuring complex network setups in Minikube can be challenging, especially for users who are replicating multi-node clusters that require elaborate networking configurations.
Not Suitable for Production
Minikube is specifically designed for development and testing purposes, meaning it lacks features needed for production deployments, such as scalability, high availability, and robust security.

containerd videos

+ Add

Deep Dive: containerd - Derek McGowan, Docker & Phil Estes, IBM Cloud

minikube videos

+ Add

Minikube in Kubernetes | Coupon: UDEMYNOV20 | Udemy: Kubernetes Made Easy | Kubernetes Tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to containerd and minikube)

minikube

Cloud Computing

72 72%

Cloud Computing

28% 28

Developer Tools

60 60%

Developer Tools

40% 40

Cloud Storage

100 100%

Cloud Storage

0% 0

Development

0 0%

Development

100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using containerd and minikube. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare containerd and minikube

containerd is described as “an industry-standard container runtime with an emphasis on simplicity, robustness and portability.” An incubating project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, containerd is available as a daemon for Linux or Windows.

Source: containerjournal.com

minikube Reviews

We have no reviews of minikube yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, containerd should be more popular than minikube. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

containerd mentions (55)

Kubernetes Without Docker: Why Container Runtimes Are Changing the Game in 2025
Containerd Official Site The runtime powering most cloud K8s clusters and your future mental breakdowns. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
Creating containers with containerd on ARM
Also, Containers are the tool when you want to speed your process of updating your software and get modularity and portability when deploying your solutions. In this post you will learn how containerd together with nerdctl can help you with this use case scenario. Check their official websites for more info https://containerd.io and https://github.com/containerd/nerdctl. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
Beyond Docker - A DevOps Engineer's Guide to Container Alternatives
Having operated large Kubernetes clusters, one learns to love the focused approach of containerd. A light-weight, high-performance container runtime, it powers a lot of container platforms, including indirectly, Kubernetes. From my experience, containerd really does one thing and does it well: it runs containers efficiently. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
Top 8 Docker Alternatives to Consider in 2025
Containerd operates as a fundamental container runtime that manages the complete container lifecycle, functioning at a lower level than Docker while providing core container operations. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
You run containers, not dockers - Discussing Docker variants, components and versioning
So once we had a single binary, then "Docker, Inc" started separating the functionalities into multiple binaries on Linux. That was the beginning the of dependencies and components we have today, except that these dependencies are now not limited to Docker. Containerd can also be the container runtime of Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago

minikube mentions (21)

Building Llama as a Service (LaaS)
With the containerized Node.js/Express API, I could run multiple containers, scaling to handle more traffic. Using a tool called minikube, we can easily spin up a local Kubernetes cluster to horizontally scale Docker containers. It was possible to keep one shared instance of the database, and many APIs were routed with an internal Kubernetes load balancer. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
Can I scale my dockerized Flask solution with Kubernetes?
Install Minicube - a tool that allows us to spin up a Kubernetes cluster in a local machine Run minikube start to start your Kubernetes cluster Run minikube dashboard to spin up a web-based user interface that allows you to manage your Kubernetes cluster. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
DevOps experience without Kubernetes
Https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube for local learning that's lightweight. Source: about 2 years ago
Minikube service URL not working
Root@vagrant-ubuntu-trusty:~/docker-containers# docker imagesREPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZEdockercontainers\_jenkins latest bb1142706601 4 days ago 1.03GBdockercontainers\_sonar latest 3f021a73750c 4 days ago ... Source: about 2 years ago
Best way to install and use kubernetes for learning
Minikube (https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube) - based off of docker machine, uses driver for backend, so can use KVM, Vagrant, or Docker itself to bootstrap K8S cluster. Source: over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing containerd and minikube, you can also consider the following products

CRI-O - Lightweight Container Runtime for Kubernetes

kops - Founded by Elsa Kopp in 1950, Kopp's Frozen Custard specializes in Milwaukee's best freshly made frozen custard and jumbo burgers.

Podman - Simple debugging tool for pods and images

Kind - Kind is a web-based tool that provides you the features to operate the local kubernetes clusters with the help of a docker container named nodes.

rkt - App Container runtime

Rancher - Open Source Platform for Running a Private Container Service